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Russia Pressures Civilians in Kherson to Install Russian Spy App “Max” Before Entering Crimea
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Russian forces at checkpoints on the route from the temporarily occupied Kherson region to Crimea are forcing civilians to install the Russian messenger app “Max” on their smartphones.
This was reported by resistance movement Yellow Ribbon on September 7.
According to activists, if the app is not installed, occupying forces pressure people to download it, assuring that the process is simple. Elderly travelers are even offered “assistance” with the installation.
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“They claim that starting next month, if the messenger is not on the phone, they will carry out additional inspections using a mobile detector designed to analyze a device’s contents,” the movement said in a statement.
Yellow Ribbon emphasized that occupying forces are threatening to subject anyone without the messenger to stricter phone checks as part of their attempts to tighten control over civilians in occupied territories.
These measures come amid broader restrictions targeting Ukrainians living under Russian occupation. As of January 1, 2025, residents of Mariupol and other territories seized since 2022 who refuse Russian citizenship are being designated as “foreigners.”
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Such individuals lose access to pensions, social benefits, and other basic rights. Their employment opportunities are severely curtailed, with “non-citizens” facing higher tax rates and limited access to medical care.
According to Human Rights in Ukraine, residents of the occupied Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions who decline Russian passports must register as “foreign nationals” or apply for temporary residence permits—further evidence of Moscow’s systematic effort to erode Ukrainian identity and enforce control.
Earlier, it was reported that in the temporarily occupied Kherson region, Russian-installed authorities are coercing Ukrainian parents into accepting Russian passports under the threat of being stripped of custody of their children.
